From Molecular Cores to Stars

Examining Herbig-Haro 46/47

© 2005 The University of Texas at Austin

For classroom instruction

Production supported by a NASA Education/Public Outreach grant

Color Calibration

White

Red

Green

Blue

Yellow

Magenta

Cyan

Make sure that your video projector accurately reproduces these colors, especially yellow (Y) and green (G).

Y G

1. What part of the electromagnetic spectrum are you seeing in each image?

The tiny dots of light are stars. Most of the stars are far behind this nebula in the foreground that is made of gas and dust.

i. Which image shows the infrared light?

ii. Which image shows the visible light?

iii. What evidence in the images supports your decision?

A B C D E F G H I

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A B C D E F G H I

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Primary ColorsRedGreenBlue

Primary ColorsRedGreenBlue

Primary ColorsRedGreenBlue

Primary ColorsRedGreenBlue

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Secondary ColorsMagentaYellowCyan

Secondary ColorsMagentaYellowCyan

Secondary ColorsMagentaYellowCyan

Secondary Colors

MagentaYellowCyan

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The infrared image “colors” correspond to infrared wavelengths of light, not visible colors. Visible colors range in wavelength from 0.4 to 0.7 micrometers. The light wavelengths in the infrared image range from 3.6 to 8.0 micrometers. To make sense of the infrared image, astronomers assign visible colors to infrared wavelengths to produce a “false color” image, like the one you are examining: 3.6 micrometers = blue (shortest wavelength), 4.6 and 5.8 micrometers combined = green, and 8.0 micrometers = red (longest wavelength).

What do the colors in the infrared image mean?

A B C D E F G H I

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A B C D E F G H I

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HH 46/47 infrared HH 46/47 visible

0.4 0.8 3.6 4.6 5.8 8.0

Visual IR

wavelength in micrometers

False colors

8 µm 4.5 µm + 5.8 µm 3.6 µm

i. Which false colors in the infrared image represent the hottest material? The coolest?

ii. Why do you think the other stars in the infrared image are false blue and white?

iii. If a feature appears white in the infrared image, what does that indicate about the energy distribution in infrared wavelengths?

2. Examine the infrared image of HH 46/47

A B C D E F G H I

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A B C D E F G H I

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HH 46/47 infrared HH 46/47 visible

0.4 0.8 3.6 4.6 5.8 8.0

Visual IR

wavelength in micrometers

False colors

8 µm 4.5 µm + 5.8 µm 3.6 µm

A B C D E F G H I

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A B C D E F G H I

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i. What is the dark blob (centered at E4) in the visible light image? Explain.

ii. What are the points of light surrounding the dark blob in the visible light image? Explain.

3. Examine the visible light image of HH 46/47

HH 46/47 infrared

1.25 ly

HH 46/47 visible

0.4 0.8 3.6 4.6 5.8 8.0

Visual IR

wavelength in micrometers

False colors

8 µm 4.5 µm + 5.8 µm 3.6 µm

List the prominent features in each image, and how you think they are related.

4. Compare and contrast the two images

IR image feature Visible image feature Relationship

A B C D E F G H I

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A B C D E F G H I

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HH 46/47 infrared

1.25 ly

HH 46/47 visible

0.4 0.8 3.6 4.6 5.8 8.0

Visual IR

wavelength in micrometers

False colors

8 µm 4.5 µm + 5.8 µm 3.6 µm

The tube shaped “smoke ring” in the infrared image (E2, E3, F3, G4) is an outflow of gas and dust from the forming star. The gas is expanding rapidly, with maximum speeds approaching 100 kilometers per second. Include supporting evidence in your explanations.

Why do you think the gas and dust are emitting infrared light?

5. Evidence of motion

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A B C D E F G H I

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HH 46/47 infrared

1.25 ly

HH 46/47 visible

8 µm 4.5 µm + 5.8 µm 3.6 µm

0.4 0.8 3.6 4.6 5.8 8.0

Visual IR

wavelength in micrometers

False colors

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/EP-177/ch2-4.html

Displayed in a close-up under an electron microscope, this tiny bit of cosmic dust may be our first sample of a passing comet. Less than one-tenth of a millimeter across, the particle is composed of millions of even tinier crystals. Although chemically similar to some meteorites, its fluffy, crystalline structure is unlike that of any known meteorite.

Electron Microscope Image of Space Dust0.1 mm

STScI-2001-13 Image by Akira Fujii

The constellation of Orion

Betelgeuse

Rigel

Orion Nebula

Orion’s Belt

What is inside the Orion Nebula ?

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2001/13/video/b

Animation Credit: Zolt Levay (STScI) and Bryan Preston (STScI and Max-Q Digital)

Animation Credit: NASA and Walt Feimer (STScI)

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/1994/24/video/a

6. What happens after star formation?

These is a visible wavelength images of an object in the Orion Nebula taken with the Hubble Space Telescope.

i. What is the bright spot in the center of image A?

ii. What about the dark oval in image A and the dark disk in image B?

iii. Where do you think the planets would form?

Image Credit: Mark McCaughrean (Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy), C. Robert O'Dell (Rice University), and NASA

A B C

Side view of A

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/1994/24/image/c

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Wink slides:

Switch, or wink, between the two following slides to compare and contrast the images.

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8 µm 4.5 µm + 5.8 µm 3.6 µm

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Big Bang

H and He CloudsClump & Collapse

Sub-stellarProto Star

Proto Planetary

Disc

Planets

Supernova

Planetary nebula

Star

Dust & Gas

White Dwarf

Neutron Star

Black Hole

Dust to Dust Cycle

Big Bang

H and He Clouds Clump & Collapse

Sub-stellar

Objects

Proto StarProto

Planetary Disc

Planets

Supernova

“Planetary”Nebula

Star

Inter-stellar Medium

White Dwarf

Black Hole

Neutron Star

Spitzer Space Telescope Cores to Discs Legacy Team

Li, BeC, N, O,…